MSCHF's Big Red Boots Go 'BOING'

Continuing its recent trend of making childish fantasies a reality, MSCHF's new Big Red Boots take inspiration from the namesake footwear of Dora the Explorer's simian companion, turning the monkey's footwear into an absurd over-the-top reality. Bearing a heavy resemblance to Astro Boy's rocket boots, the cartoonish shoes feature a minimal, oversized design that's as close to the Platonic ideal of "boot" (with a bright red rubber shell). MSCHF boasts that the Big Red Boots go "BOING!" when you kick someone.

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A statement piece to say the very least, MSCHF's new boots are definitely not for those with a more conservative sense of style — but neither realism nor practicality was really what the collective had in mind here. "You never design shoes to be shaped like feet," MSCHF explains in a press release. "Big Red Boots are REALLY not shaped like feet, but they are EXTREMELY shaped like boots." Not to mention: They're VERY red, too.

It's far from the Brooklyn-based art collective's first foray into the world of footwear, having famously ruffled feathers with their Satanic spin on a pair of Nike Air Max 97s, cheekily fashioned Birkins into Birkenstocks and partnered with Jimmy Fallon to launch their candy-inspired Gobstomper sneaker. MSCHF is no stranger to unconventional footwear either, having previously put a wavy, potentially ankle-breaking spin on Vans and made a pair of walkable medical boots, but their Big Red Boots may take the cake as the collective's most whimsical offering to date.

Having already gone viral after they leaked early, the Big Red Boots are already drawing a bit of buzz, with the more adventurous sneakerheads out there eager to get their hands on these massive units. MSCHF's Big Red Boots are set to drop on February 16 via the collective's website and the MSCHF Sneakers App for $350.

Photography: Garrett Bruce